Goda Kalyanam, the ballet choreographed by veteran Bharatanatyam guru V. S. Ramamurthy with the assistance of his daughter Manjula Ramaswamy, has become very popular. The entire ballet's musical and jati parts were recorded with mellifluous voice of noted Carnatic vocalist Prema Ramamurthy and Manjula Ramaswamy (nattuvangam part). Prema's daughter, noted flautist Jayaprada, composed music. Another known Carnatic music veteran Kolleigal Subramanyam gave the script with impressive lyrics that suited the Bharatanatyam grammar. Presented in the presence of Ganapati Sachidananda, at whose ashram, located at Dindigal, this ballet was staged amidst a large number of devotees. Ramanataka Nikethan of Ramamurthy staged this ballet supported by pre-recorded music. The ballet also included a few traditional Tamil compositions associated with this story.
Opened with a prayer to Ganesha, the earlier part had some traditional nritta. About 30 young students of Rammurthy, presented different postures on specially designed pots with candles placed in vessels on their heads. The ‘Urdhwa Tandava' postures of these children standing on one leg and the other leg almost touching their heads, was a scene to watch.
The choreography was so taut that every jati spell looked well chiselled. The artistes in the major roles, especially Madhulika as child Goda, Santosh Nair as grown up Goda, Nikhila Reddy as Mahavishnu and Archana, a senior student, in another prime role of Peria Alwar, left their impression on all dance sequences. Varshini, Srishti, Saranya, Jahnavi, Sushmita, Harika as sSakhies of Goda Devi accentuated the beauty of the scenes with their contribution. It was a laudable presentation that the huge audience enjoyed every bit of it.
